It is well documented that income inequality is on the rise, with the richest 10 percent earning up to 40 percent of total global income. The poorest 10 percent earn only between 2 percent and 7 percent of total global income. In developing countries, inequality has increased by 11 percent if we take into account the growth of population.

These widening disparities require the adoption of sound policies to empower the bottom percentile of income earners, and promote economic inclusion of all regardless of sex, race or ethnicity.

Income inequality is a global problem that requires global solutions. This involves improving the regulation and monitoring of financial markets and institutions, encouraging development assistance and foreign direct investment to regions where the need is greatest. Facilitating the safe migration and mobility of people is also key to bridging the widening divide.

Goals in action

The Dost Bakery is a small cake business that opened in Iraqi Kurdistan in the autumn of 2015. Dost means “friend” in Kurdish, as the bakery is run by 10 friends. All of them are women who were displaced by ISIS... MORE >

More than 30 years after she saw her family and community torn apart by Guatemala’s decades-long civil war, Elena de Paz decided to tell her story. She was one of the 97 witnesses who testified during the trial for crimes against humanity. MORE >

Poor and illiterate women and men are the most vulnerable when it comes to the labyrinthine procedures of Egypt’s family courts. Navigating the complex paperwork of the legal system is a serious obstacle in their search for justice. MORE >

The 2014 flooding and landslides affected more than a million people. With the understanding that advanced warning saves lives, UNDP is helping to establish a flood forecasting and early warning system in the Vrbas River basin. MORE >